All Roads Lead to Manila – The TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Power Forwards Outside of the Philippines

In the
previous post in this series, we looked at the TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Centers.
These are the beanpoles who are expected to anchor the interior offenses of
their respective teams and serve as the last line of defense in case the
perimeter defense cracks.

In this
issue, we’ll look at maybe the most peculiar position in basketball – the power
forward position. I’ve always felt that his position was a little too overstated.
I mean, just look at its name – POWER FORWARD. The first time I heard that term
was way back in fourth grade when one of my classmates announced that he was
officially the class basketball team’s POWER FORWARD. What the hell did that
mean – that he could never step back over the timeline on defense? And what
kind of power did he actually have? Could he leap from one free throw line to
the other in a single bound?

In reality,
however, playing PF might seem absolutely confusing, if not utterly schizophrenic.
A PF, in the traditional sense, is smaller than the center, but a little bigger
than any of the wingmen. He is not really supposed to man the middle, but he
should be inside. Typically, he is not the first option in the low block, but
he would do well NOT to shoot from way out, too. In short, many times, a PF is
neither here nor there. It’s a position built for people who like impersonating
headless chickens whose main goal in life is to just jump and get
repossessions. Dennis Rodman, Reggie Evans, Malik Rose – ring any bells?

Of course,
there have been a plethora of basketball greats who were PFs, like Karl Malone,
Charles Barkley, Kevin McHale, Kevin Garnett, and Othella Harrington (What? He
isn’t on your list? You’re kidding, right?). Still, it’s perhaps one of the
toughest positions to fill simply because a PF, again, is expected to possess
the skills of both a center and a small forward without being “too much” of
either position. This is, I guess, why guys like Keith Van Horn and Tim Thomas never
really could find their “identity,” because PFs, by nature, have nebulous
roles.

It is no
surprise, then, that these muddled responsibilities and varying skill sets are
present in Asian PFs. It is with this context that, here in Part 2 of our
series, we look at the TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Power Forwards, and then make some
recommendations for which locals could be viable match-ups against these
marquee Asian cagers. Please take note that some of these 4s actually play
either the small forward or center spot at times for their respective teams.
Again, this should not really come as a surprise.

Oh Se-Keun, a Rookie-of-the-Year/Finals MVP in the
KBL last season, is one of the top PFs in Asia.
(image from Basketball-TPE.org)

These are the best power forwards in Asia!
(composite image by Enzo Flojo/Hoop Nut)

Ali Jamal Zaghab – Jordan, 25 years old,
6’9”

Current
club & stats: Al Riyadi Aramex (JPBL); 7.3ppg, 4.3rpg

FIBA 2011
Championship stats: 5.6ppg, 5.4rpg 1.7bpg

Strengths:
Zaghab is the Anderson Varejao or Joakim Noah of Jordan. He’s not a big time
scorer, but he’s a scrappy fellow who gets down and dirty in the trenches. He
doesn’t really have polished post moves, nor can he face up to hit the
mid-range J, but what he lacks in offensive prowess, he makes up for in spades
with his big man D and hustle. Despite being an aggressive defender, he also rarely
gets into foul trouble.

Weaknesses:
Given his skills, Zaghab is far from someone who can take over a basketball game. He
tends to have trouble from the line, too – he averages under 50% in most of his
stints with the Jordan NT. He is also not as versatile as former Jordan
stalwarts Zaid Al-Khas and Ayman Idais.

Arsalan Kazemi – Iran, 23 years old, 6’7”

US NCAA
stats: Oregon Ducks; 8.9ppg, 9.6rpg, 2.2spg, 60.2 FG%

FIBA 2011
Championship stats: 12.0ppg, 8.9rpg, 1.3spg, 66.1 FG%

Strengths:
Kazemi is an explosive power forward who served as the perfect complement to
Hamed Haddadi up front for Iran in the 2011 FIBA Asia tourney. He transferred
from Rice University to the University of Oregon this year in US NCAA, and,
despite the higher level of competition, he still averages a near double-double
for the Ducks. He is an extremely efficient big man, norming great numbers in
Wuhan by just playing barely over 20 minutes per game. And, yeah, he’s just 23
years old!!!

Weaknesses:
The biggest knocks on Kazemi are his free throw accuracy and around-the-basket
defense. He shot under 60% from the line in the 2011 FIBA Asia joust, and
shoots just a little over it in the NCAA. For a guy gifted with his size and
athleticism, he also doesn’t block a lot of shots, though one may argue it’s
because Iran has Haddadi for that anyway.

Arsalan Kazemi's strong play has has a positive impact
on the Oregon Ducks this year.
(image from GoDucks.com)

Strengths:
Tseng is the classic international big guy who possesses great low post play
and great outside shooting. He’s like Taiwan’s Tim Duncan, if Duncan added a
dangerous shot from beyond the arc. His stats with Shanghai aren’t impressive,
but that’s really because the Sharks have two other bigs ahead of Tseng in the
rotation – DJ White and Chinese NT slotman Zhang Zhaoxu. Tseng has always been
a thorn on our side, and his great combo of shooting and mobility should
continue to serve the Taiwanese well this year.

Weaknesses:
Tseng didn’t shoot well from the floor in Wuhan (under 40%), but he rebounded
from that by shooting nearly 60% in the 2012 Jones Cup. What’s consistently
awful about him, though, is his inconsistency from the free throw line. He
norms around 60% from the stripe, and that is definitely not good for a guy who
likes to operate down low and who gets hacked pretty often. He has decent
on-ball post defense, but he’s not exactly the most intimidating shot-blocker
out there. Also, he’s already on the wrong side of his 20s.

Kosuke Takeuchi – Japan, 28 years old, 6’9”

Current
club & stats: Toyota Alvark (JBL) – 9.0ppg, 7.4rpg,

2012 FIBA
Asia Cup stats: 13.0ppg, 9.7rpg, 1.1bpg

Strengths:
Takeuchi has always been known as a versatile big man. He is capable of
operating from the low block either with his back to the basket or facing his
defender. Like Tseng, Takeuchi can also hit the occasional jumper and is a
pretty good passer.

Weaknesses:
One big weakness for Takeuchi, however, and this is one big reason JR Sakuragi
was called up to the NT again, is that he’s a little… soft. Takeuchi has enough
athleticism to get rebounds and block shots, but he’s not exactly a guy who can
impose his will on either end of the floor. He has also been known to fade if
things get a little too physical down low (like what happened when Gilas faced
Japan in Wuhan). Another weakness is his inconsistent free throw shooting – he
shot 90% in the 2012 FIBA Asia Cup, but is currently hitting at a dismal 52%
clip for Toyota Alvark in the JBL.

Strengths:
Many people can still remember how Oh, as a spry 22-year old, dropped 31 points
on Powerade Team Pilipinas during the battle for 7th place in the
2009 FIBA Asia tourney in Tianjin, China. Not much has changed with Oh in terms
of his skill set. He’s still the most dangerous interior operator for the
Koreans, despite the fact he’s probably their smallest PF/C guy. He’s actually
just as tall as most of our own “big” men in the Philippines, but he just seems
to utilize his gifts of quickness, shiftiness, and timing a little better than
most other Asian forwards. Oh is dangerous from as far as 20 feet out and is
famous for finding openings in opposing teams’ defenses.

Weaknesses:
Other than his inconsistent free throw shooting, Oh really has no statistical
weakness. One thing that might slow him down, however, is the fact that he is
still recovering from his lingering knee and ankle injuries. He has missed
practically the entire 2012-2013 KBL season so far, and it looks like he might
not return anytime in the next couple of months. Still, if, indeed, Oh does
make a comeback, then there will almost definitely be a prime spot in the National
Team reserved for him.

Unsolicited Recommendation:

There are
really two general kinds of Asian PFs – those who are physical and really fight
like mad dogs underneath the basket (Zaghab and Kazemi), and those who prefer
the finesse game by utilizing their quickness and midrange game (Tseng and Takeuchi).
Of course, there’s also the anomalous PF who is a fair combination of both
power and finesse, and that’s why Oh Se-Keun is, by far, the most dangerous
power forward out there. That is, of course, if he is in the pink of health.

I feel that,
at least in terms of skill set, most of our own prototype local big men can
match-up pretty well with any of the guys mentioned above, but one factor that
will really make Gilas Pilipinas a little dehado
when it comes to the 4 position is size. Whereas other countries can afford to
have guys standing 6’8” or taller to play power forward, coach Chot Reyes will
probably have to make do with guys standing 6’4” to 6’7” only. One can make the
argument, of course, that Marcus Douthit can slide into the 4 position with the
addition of both Greg Slaughter and June Mar Fajardo to the team.

The prospective
power forwards of Gilas should be players gifted with the kind of grit and
physicality we Pinoys are known to have. Ideally, however, that should be
balanced out by the capability to spread the floor by virtue of polished
perimeter shooting or well-timed cutting.

In this
regard, the five guys whom I think can best serve as Gilas Pilipinas’s power
forwards are (arranged from highest-priority to lowest-priority):

Japeth Aguilar (yes, Mr. I Want More
Playing Time is my top choice based solely on his skill set… if we base it on
his effort and desire, then… well, I’d like to think the jury’s still out on that)

Ranidel De Ocampo (RaniDirk has all the
skills to be a great FIBA Asia power forward… now if only he could play with
2-3-inch high heels)

Kelly Williams (Machine Gun Kelly is as
scrappy and as athletic as they come, I cringe whenever he hoists a shot beyond
15 feet)

Marc Pingris (if Ping were 6’7”, he
might be the best PF in Asia bar none… but he’s just 6’4”)

Jay Washington (great size, great
shooting… undecided about his desire)

In PART THREE,
we shall take a look at the TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Small Forwards.

Ponomarev SHOULD be on this list, but I chose to forego his inclusion because of two reasons:1) the last time he played a FIBA Asia match was way back in the 2009 FIBA Asia Championships, and2) the kazakhs are having trouble forming their own team, since there seems to be internal squabbles with their own basketball federation.

still, you're right, IF the Kazakhs join the tourney with their best team, then Ponomarev will surely be a big thorn on our side!

I counted Abbas as a SF, though he does play PF sometimes for JOR. The thing with Abbas is I won't even include him in the Top 5 SFs because he already indicated his retirement from international basketball, at least for now.

I counted Yi as a C because that's what he'll probably play as in the August tourney (with Wang Zhizhi out). CHN's main PF will probably be either Zhu Fangyu or Ding Jinhui.

haha very possible, but the problem is think is between the Jordanian basketball association and the respective club teams of zaid and sam. if they cannot patch things up, then both guys really won't play...

Based on what I've read in the forums, I think Oh's recovery is going well and he might be ready to compete in August. If, indeed, he won't make it, then I don't think Min-Soo will replace him simply because Korea's basketball governing body is very strict when it comes to using "half-Korean" players. It'll be a toss-up among Min-Soo, Lee Seung-Jun, Lee Dong-Jun, and Moon Tae-Jong. Also, it's actually Oh Se-Keun. Oh Sek-Eun is the inaccurate name used by Asia-basket.com. If you look at Oh's Korea NT jerseys, his name on tieback is ALWAYS OH S K… trivia lang. Also, strangely enough, he's my Facebook contact and it is Oh Se-Keun. I hate how Asia-basket.com can be so inaccurate (and to think I write for them! haha).